Milk-test-bottle rack.



F. A. WILCOX. MILK TEST BOTTLE RACK. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, 1913.

Patented Feb. 24, 1914.

INVENTOR,

ATTORNEY BY g QMKW

FRANK ASAPH WILCOX, OF PATTERSONVILLE, NEW YORK.

MILK-TEST-BOTTLE RACK.

Specification of Letters I'atent.

Patented Feb. 24, 1914.

Application filed June 6, 1913. Serial 1T0. 772,192. I

1' 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK A. W1Loox, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pattersonville, in the county of Schenectady and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Milk-Test-Bottle Rack, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in racks for holding tubes or bottles used in the process of testing milk or other liquids.

The object is to provide a simple, inexpensive and easily operated device of this character which is capable of holding a plurality of test tubes containing certain known quantities of milk, durin what is known as the Babcock test, without the danger of breaking the tubes or losing any of the contents thereof and without the necessity of handling each tube separately.

A further object is to providearack of this character that may be readily inverted while still holding the said test tubes, and capable of supportin the same in spaced relation to a base or dram board so that there is no danger of the necks of the tubes coming in contact with the same, thus obviating the possibility of breaking the tubes while in the act of cleansing or draining.

With these-and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and pointed out in the claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, size, capacity and proportions of said rack may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing, in which -like reference characters designate corresponding parts in each of the several figureS, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the improved rack or holder. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the device.

The improved rack comprises, in its construction, a base board or bottom member 1 which may be formed of comparatively thin wood or other material, and is preferably rectangular in shape and of a size to form a support for any desired number of test tubes or bottles. Securely fastened to the upper face of this bottom board 1, as by screws, nails or the like, is another board or subbase member 2 which is provided with a plurality of bores 3, said bores being of a diameter to receive the lower bulb or body portions of any desired number of test tubes 1, which are adapted to rest upon the base board or member 1 and are prevented from lateral movement by the walls of the bores or sockets 3.

Adjacent each of the corners of the socketed board or sub-base member 2, a post 5 is located. These posts may be secured to the member 2 1n any desired manner, and are considerably longer than the test tubes 4, so that the said posts may act as supports for the rack and the tubes carried thereby, when in an inverted position, and thus maintain the necks of the bottles in an elevated position. The corner osts or supports 5 are reduced 1n diameter intermediate their ends, thus providing shoulders 7, adapted to support a follower-board 8 which is provided with apertures 9 to receive the reduced ends 10 of the corner posts 5. The follower-board is further provided with a plurality of apertures 11 adapted to fit over the reduced necks of the test tubes and to rest on the breasts 12 of the same, in order to provide a second means of support for the tubes intermediate their extremities to prevent them from accidental lateral displacement, and also, by reason of the follower board 8 bearing downwardly upon the breasts 12 it serves to prevent the said tubes from becoming unseated from the sockets 3 of the sub-base member 2.

In order to securely hold the follower board 8 against the breasts 12 of the several test tubes or bottles, and to connect the same with the base member 2, the said follower board is equipped, at each end, with a centrally located projection 13, (which may be pins, screws or of any other desired form), and said projections are adapted to be engaged by books 14, of any suitable form, pivoted as at 15, to the sub-base member 2 and adapted to be swung into and out of engagement with the projections 13 of the follower board 8 to lock the same in engagement with or release the said board from the base member when so desired.

By reason of the extended ends 10 of the corner posts 5 it is a comparatively easy matter, after the tubes or bottles have been placed in the several sockets 3, to properly position the follower board 8 to receive the necks of the tubes, for it is only necessary to register the apertures 8 in said board with the upper ends of the posts and slide the same downwardly over the necks of the bottles until the board rests upon the shoulders 7 when the same may be locked in position.

From the foregoing detailed description of the improved rack, it will be seen that a simple and cheaply constructed device has been provided which is capable of holding any desired number of test tubes or bottles up to the limit of its capacity, of securely fastening 'said tubes in the rack without the danger of breaking the same and, after the contents of the tubes or bottles have been submitted to the test, the entire number of bottles may by one operation be cleansed with hot water, or by other means, and, upon inverting the rack, allowed to drain and dry, without the danger of breaking the necks of the bottles, by reason of the projected ends of the corner posts 5 serving as the supporting means for the rack.

While the device has been shown and described as being constructed chiefly of wood, it is to be understood that any other suitable material may be employed for the purpose, and that the capacity of the said device may be altered to suit any requirements, and that while the base is shown rectangular, it may be of any other form and may be made of one piece of material having the socket formed therein.

What is claimed is 1. A milk test bottle rack, comprising a base member provided with sockets adapted to receive the lower ends of tubes or bottles, a follower board having registering openings adapted to receive the necks of said tubes or bottles, upstanding posts carried by the base member, and means for locking the follower board in position, said posts being extended beyond the open ends of the said tubes or bottles so as to support the same free from a drain board, when thedevice is in an invertedposition.

2. A device fo-r holding test tubes or hottles, consisting of a socketed base member adapted to receive the bottoms of said tubes, corner posts rigidly carried by said base member and having shoulders provided thereon at an intermediate point, a followerboard provided with apertures registering with the extended ends of the corner posts and adapted to rest upon the shoulders of said posts, said board being further provided Wlth apertures to permit of the passage of the necks of said tubes and adapted to engage the said tubes at an intermediate portion of their length, and locking means for securing the follower board to the base member, said locking means bein mounted on the base member and detacha ly engaging the follower board.

3. A milk test bottle rack, comprising a base member provided with bottle or tubereceiving sockets, relatively long upstanding posts at the ends of said base member, shoulders provided intermediate the ends of said posts, a follower board having registering openings adapted to receive the said posts and to rest on the shoulders thereof, said follower board being further provided with apertures to receive the necks of the tubes or bottles, and means for locking the follower board in its engaged position.

4. In a milk test bottle rack, the combination of the base member adapted to support the bottoms of the bottles or tubes, a loose follower board having a plurality of apertures through which the tubes or bottles are passed, a series of posts connected rigidly to the base member and having a length in excess of the tubes or bottles so as to project beyond the open ends thereof, and means for locking the follower board in position.

5. In a milk test bottle rack, a base member provided with means for holdin the bottoms of the tubes or bottles, posts rigidly secured thereto and having shoulders formed intermediate their ends, the upper ends of said posts extending beyond the necks of the tubes or bottles, a follower board provided with apertures adapted tofit over the necks of said tubes or bottles, and other apertures to receive the extended posts in order to properly position the first-mentioned apertures over the necks of the tubes or bottles, and means for securing the follower board against the said shoulders to maintain the tubes in their respective sockets.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as I 

